Matthieu Joseph Joël Lahaye (born 23 November 1984 in Rennes) is a French racing driver. He competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship for OAK Racing in 2012 and for Ultimate in 2022. Along with his brother Jean-Baptiste, he runs a small sports car racing team called Ultimate, as well as family business Lahaye Global Logistics.
Career
Lahaye's career began in karting, in which he competed between 1995 and 2001. He then took part in Formula France and French Formula Renault. In 2004, he contested World Series Lights, finishing fifth in the standings with a win at Valencia. He moved on to the Eurocup Mégane Trophy in 2005 for Tech 1 Racing, finishing his first season ninth overall. The following year, he won three times on his way to the runner-up spot. 2007 saw him slip to fifth place with just one win.
2008 saw Lahaye switch to sportscars, driving in the Le Mans Series for Saulnier Racing. Racing a Pescarolo-Judd with Pierre Ragues, he finished fifth in the LMP2 standings. He also took part in his first 24 Hours of Le Mans with the team together with Ragues and China's Congfu Cheng, finishing 18th overall and third in LMP2.
In 2009, Lahaye continued with the team (now renamed OAK Racing) in the LMP2 class of the LMS, with Karim Ajlani as his teammate. They scored two podium finishes from the five races, finishing ninth in the final standings. He and Ajlani were joined at Le Mans by Guillaume Moreau, but the car retired from the race. Lahaye did win the class in the two races at Okayama that made up the 2009 Asian Le Mans Series, partnering team owner Jacques Nicolet and Richard Hein.
In 2010, Lahaye partnered Nicolet in the Le Mans Series, and finished the year third in LMP2. At Le Mans, he finished seventh overall and second in LMP2, sharing with Moreau and Jan Charouz.
In 2011, Lahaye contested the LMP1 category of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup with OAK. However, a heavy accident in qualifying at Spa left him with two broken vertebrae, a broken hand and an injured knee, and he would miss the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In 2012, Lahaye competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship in OAK's Morgan LMP2 alongside Nicolet and Olivier Pla.
Racing record Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points 2012 OAK Racing LMP2 Morgan LMP2 Judd HK 3.6 L V8 SEB SPA LMS 36th 6.5 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL SÃO BHR FUJ SHA 2021 Association SRT41 Innovative Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2L V8 SPA ALG MNZ LMS BHR BHR 0 0 2022 Ultimate LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2L V8 SEB SPA LMS MNZ FUJ BHR 21st 6
24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2008 Saulnier Racing Pierre Ragues Cheng Congfu Pescarolo 01-Judd LMP2 333 18th 3rd 2009 OAK Racing Team Mazda France Guillaume Moreau Karim Ajlani Pescarolo 01-Mazda LMP2 208 DNF DNF 2010 OAK Racing Guillaume Moreau Jan Charouz Pescarolo 01-Judd LMP2 361 7th 2nd 2012 OAK Racing Jacques Nicolet Olivier Pla Morgan LMP2-Judd LMP2 139 DNF DNF 2021 Association SRT41 Nigel Bailly Takuma Aoki Oreca 07-Gibson Innovative 334 32nd – 2022 Ultimate François Hériau Jean-Baptiste Lahaye Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 335 48th 24th
Complete European Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points 2012 OAK Racing LMP2 Morgan LMP2 Judd-BMW HK 3.6L V8LEC DON PET 12th 9 2016 Ultimate LMP3 Ligier JS P3 Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8 SIL IMO RBR LEC SPA EST 10th 26 2017 Ultimate LMP3 Ligier JS P3 Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8 SIL MNZ RBR LEC SPA ALG 4th 61 2018 Ultimate LMP3 Norma M30 Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8 LEC MNZ RBR SIL SPA ALG 8th 36.5 2019 Ultimate LMP3 Norma M30 Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8 LEC MNZ CAT SIL SPA ALG 3rd 76 2021 Ultimate LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT RBR LEC MNZ SPA ALG 16th 23Pro-Am Cup 3rd 822023UltimateLMP3Ligier JS P320Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8CATLECARASPAPRTALG 9th 39 2024 Ultimate LMP3 Ligier JS P320 Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 CAT LEC IMO SPA MUG ALG 11th 32 2025 Ultimate LMP3 Ligier JS P325 Toyota V35A 3.5 L V6 CAT LEC IMO SPA SIL ALG 7th 55 * Season still in progress.
References
External links Official website